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A smart, well-acted, and refreshingly messy coming-of-age story, Selah and the Spades suggests a bright future for debuting writer-director Tayarisha Poe. Read critic reviews

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Movie Info

Five factions run the underground life of a prestigious east coast boarding school. The head of The Spades walks a fine line between being feared and being loved.
  • Rating:
    R (Language|Teen Drug Content)
  • Genre:
    drama
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Tayarisha Poe
  • Writer:
    Tayarisha Poe
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Runtime:

Cast & Crew

Lovie Simone
Selah
Jharrel Jerome
Maxxie
Celeste O'Connor
Paloma
Ana Mulvoy Ten
Bobby
Jesse Williams
Headmaster
Henry Hunter Hall
Tarit
Nekhebet Kum Juch
Nuri
Francesca Noel
Amber B
Krish Bhuva
Mooks
Benjamin Breault
David
Tayarisha Poe
Director
Tayarisha Poe
Screenwriter
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News & Interviews for Selah and the Spades

TV Premiere Dates 2020
The Indie Fresh List: A Horror Writer, a Gory Thriller, and a Dance Romance
The Indie Fresh List: A Young Chef, Teen Cliques, and a Darkly Comic Murder Gone Awry
View All

Critic Reviews for Selah and the Spades

All Critics (109) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (15)

  • It has a woozy, suggestive grip, dangling some questions, answering others. It isn't slick. It's singular - and Poe is clearly a name to watch.

    November 27, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Tim Robey

    Daily Telegraph (UK)

  • Poe's feature debut, though, has a style all its own, spare but rich and able to make the umpteenth teen movie we've all seen feel fresh.

    April 28, 2020 | Full Review…

    Steve Pond

    TheWrap

  • Poe - a new kid on the block who already feels like a major talent - calls a spade a spade but manages to be dreamily oblique, right to the end.

    April 21, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Charlotte O'Sullivan

    London Evening Standard

  • It's impassioned, informed and sometimes furious work that could find Poe being name-checked herself not too long from now.

    April 21, 2020 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Barry Hertz

    Globe and Mail

  • Tayarisha Poe's empowerment of women, dissection of Black Excellence, and modern sensibility toward adolescent sexuality makes for an edgy feature debut.

    April 21, 2020 | Rating: A | Full Review…

    Robert Daniels

    Mediaversity Reviews

  • It's closer to horror than the usual lightweight fare one finds in the genre.

    April 21, 2020 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    James Berardinelli

    ReelViews
View All Critic Reviews (109)

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